Apparatus for thermal characterization under non-uniform heat load

ABSTRACT

An apparatus determines cooling characteristics of an operational cooling device used for transferring heat from an electronic device. The operational cooling device is thermally coupled to a heat pipe. The heat pipe has an exposed surface for selective application of heat thereon. Heat from a localized heat source is selectively applied to at least one region of the exposed surface. The heat source is preferably capable of being varied both positionally relative to the exposed surface and in heat intensity. A heat shield is preferably positioned around the exposed surface of the heat pipe to isolate the operational cooling device from the heat from the localized heat source. A temperature detector repeatedly measures a temperature distribution across the exposed surface while the cooling device is in a heat transfer mode. The temperature distribution is then used to thermally characterize the operational cooling device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority from U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/611,519 filed on Nov. 3, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No.8,210,741, which is based on and claims priority from U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/048,620, filed on Mar. 14, 2008, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,651,260, which is based on and claims priority from U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/982,575, filed on Nov. 5, 2004, now U.S. Pat.No. 8,029,186. The entire disclosure of each of the above-referencedpatent applications is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates in general to characterizing cooling devices andcooling packages for electronic components and more particularly, to anapparatus and method of thermal characterization of a cooling deviceunder non-uniform heat loads.

2. Description of the Related Art

Microprocessor performance has improved significantly over the lastdecade. To effect this improvement in device performance, the density ofcircuitry has increased. More and more transistors are fabricated insmaller chip size. This has in turn, led to an exponential rise inpackage power densities, and this trend is expected to continue into theforeseeable future. Almost all the electrical energy consumed by thechip package is released into the surroundings as heat, which thusplaces an enormous burden on the cooling device and cooling package.

Existing cooling technologies typically utilize air or water to carrythe heat away from the chip. Heat sinks with heat pipes or vaporchambers are commonly used air-cooling devices, while cold-plates, ofmini and micro scales, are most predominant in water-cooling. Thesedevices are attached to the silicon chip via a thermal interface. Inmany cooling packages, three components can be distinguished: i) thecooling device; ii) the thermal conductive interface between the coolingdevice and the chip; and iii) the chip or semiconductor device itself.Each of these is described further below. In the following, fordiscussion purposes, the cooling device is referred to as the heat sinkwhich may comprise a fan, copper fins, a cold plate, mini-channels,mini-ducts, micro-channels, micro-ducts, and other similar structures.The cooling package includes the cooling device, the electronic devicesuch as a semiconductor chip, and a thermal interface material betweenthe chip and the cooling device.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show prior art air-cooled and liquid-cooled chip,respectively. Referring to FIG. 1, an air-cooled fin-type heat sink 102is coupled to a silicon chip 104. The heat sink 102 includes a pluralityof cooling fins 106 that are made of a highly thermally conductingmaterial such as copper or aluminum. The fin structure maximizes surfacearea and extracts the heat away from the chip, and transfers the heat toan ambient environment 108. The heat sink 102 can also includes aninternal heat pipe 110 having a wick structure and located between thecooling fins 106 and the chip 104 and a thermally conductive plate 112located between the heat pipe 110 and the chip 104. Finally, a thermallyconductive interface 114, such as grease, epoxy, or solder, couples theheat sink 102 to the chip 104 and allows heat to transfer from the chip104 to the heat sink 102. For reference purposes, the whole structure100 is referred to as the cooling “package.”

Referring now to FIG. 2, a liquid-cooled heat sink 202 is shown coupledto a silicon chip 104. The liquid-cooled heat sink 202 is a sealedenvironment that does not necessarily rely on the environment for heatdissipation, but instead provides a path for the circulation of liquid.The liquid is able to carry away a portion of the heat to a chiller orsome other heat extractor (which could be the environment). The liquidcooled heat sink 202 is coupled to the chip 104 by a thermallyconductive interface 114. Similar to that shown in FIG. 1, the coldplate 202 of FIG. 2 is the actual cooling device while the wholestructure 200 is referred to as the cooling package. Cooling package 200includes the interface 114 and the chip 104. It should be noted that thecold plate 202 comprises mini-channels, micro-channels, mini-ducts andmicro-ducts and other forms of macro/mini/micro coldplates.

In addition to a general rise in the power dissipation due to theabove-mentioned increase in transistor density, microprocessors andother circuitry have been optimized for performance, which has resultedin high heat zones or areas on the device. These zones display muchhigher power densities and lead to ‘hot spots’ on the chip. FIG. 3 is aprior art chip power map showing power distribution. FIG. 4 depicts aprior art temperature distribution on the surface of the cooling device,resulting from the power map of FIG. 3 when the device 104 is cooled asdiscussed with reference to prior art structures. The spatialnon-uniformity of the chip's power distribution causes a correspondingnon-uniformity in power and temperature on the surface of the coolingdevice that is in contact with the chip by means of the thermallyconductive interface 114. This phenomenon can adversely affect thethermal performance of the cooling device, which is typically designedto function and tested under a more spatially uniform heat load.

Heat pipes 110 or vapor chambers have an evaporator section (not shown)that uses known liquid phase change via evaporation or boiling of theresident liquid. This enables the extraction of large amounts of heatfrom the chip surface. Both evaporation and boiling rates, aresignificantly influenced by the magnitude of heat flux and heat fluxdistribution over the surface in contact with the liquid undergoingphase change. Specifically, degradation in cooling ability of the heatpipe 110 occurs at areas of high power density within the device. Thus,when employing a heat pipe or a vapor chamber to cool a microprocessoror an electronic device, if there is a large non-uniformity in the powerdensity of the chip, the boiling and/or evaporation in the evaporatorregion over the chip and interface will also be non-uniform. Theresultant cooling heat transfer coefficient is a dependent function onthe local heat flux distribution on the evaporator surface.

To illustrate this principle, FIG. 5 shows a prior art fully-operationalsilicon chip 104. The chip 104 has three distinct power density areas: alow power density area 502; a moderate power density area 504; and ahigh power density 506. Located directly above and coupled to the chip104 is a heat pipe 110 containing a liquid 508. Within the heat pipe 110and directly above the moderate power density area 504 of the chip 104,is an area 514 where the liquid 508 is boiling. At this point, the phasechange is rapidly occurring and the cooling effect of the heat pipe 110is at a maximum. At area 512, directly above the low power density area502 of the operating chip 104, is an area of little phase change in thecooling liquid 508 (most commonly water), and, therefore, reducedcooling of the chip 104. Finally, at area 516, directly above the highpower density area 506 of the chip 104, an excess amount of vaporgeneration is occurring in the liquid 508. The excess amount of vaporgeneration creates a blanket of vapor 518 that prevents the liquid 508from contacting the plate 112 and efficiently dissipating the heat fromthe plate 112, thereby causing the cooling coefficient of the coolingdevice 110 to drop off rapidly.

FIG. 6 a prior art graphic illustrates how the variation of a boiling orevaporation cooling coefficient is a function of input power density.Three points along the graph 612, 614, and 616, correspond to the sameareas, 512, 514, and 516, in FIG. 5. In FIG. 6, it can be seen that thecooling coefficient increases with power density until it reaches anoptimal value 614, after which it reduces sharply

Thus, under these circumstances it is advantageous to understand anddesign for, the thermal behavior of the cooling device under non-uniformchip heat load. To enable this understanding and design, it is desirableto characterize and measure the performance of these cooling deviceswhen they are subjected to this spatially non-uniform chip power. Also,the chip power density is dependent on the application, i.e. the natureof its activity. Thus, the same chip under different applications willpossess a different power density. Therefore, it is also desirable todesign for a flexible or dynamically changing power map.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, in accordance with the present invention, disclosed is a methodand apparatus for application of a non-uniform heat load to a coolingdevice, as well as a measurement and characterization of the thermalperformance of: (i) the cooling device only; (ii) the complete coolingdevice package (i.e. cooling device, thermally conductive interface andchip); and (iii) the thermal conductive interface only. The inventivemethod and apparatus do not require physical coupling of measurementequipment to the device under test and, therefore, provide many benefitsover the use of resistance heaters for power applications,thermocouples, and IR thermal imaging for temperature measurement. Themethod and device disclosed herein will also allow for rapid variationof hot spot or high power density locations on the device under test.

In one embodiment, the present invention comprises an apparatus forthermally characterizing an operational cooling device for a processingdevice, wherein the apparatus comprises an operational cooling device, alocalized heat source that is applied to at least one region on thecooling device, and a temperature detector for measuring a temperaturedistribution.

The cooling device is of the type commonly used to cool microprocessorsin computing applications and is coupled to an electronic device for thepurpose carrying away heat during operation of the electronic device.Exemplary embodiments of the cooling device are heat pipes, vaporchambers, cooling fins, or cold plates cooled by either a group ofmacrochannels, micro-channels, mini-channels, micro-ducts, mini-ductsand/or a fan assembly. The cooling device can also be other structuresuseful for cooling computer chips or other similar electronic devices.

Localized heat is applied to the cooling device through the use of aheat generator, which can be a laser, a focused lamp, a directedconvective heat flow generator, a heat element, an electromagneticradiator, or any other device capable of generating and transferringfocused heat. In one embodiment, the heat generator is laser and a beamsplitting optical element (Wollaston prism) is utilized to split a laserbeam produced by the laser into two paths so that the cooling devicereceives two separate focused heating areas. The focused heat source canalso be repositioned and applied to a plurality of locations on thedevice so that the effect of non-uniform heat in each area can bediscerned.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a bias heat is alsoapplied to the cooling device by a bias heat source. The bias heatsource applies more or less uniform heat to a larger area of the coolingdevice and can be realized by a heat gun or any other similar devicecapable of applying uniform heat to an entire area. In other cases avery slightly focused UV-lamp or a diode laser array may be used. Addingthe bias heat in conjunction with a focused heat source more closelysimulates the heat characteristics of an electronic device than does asingle focused heat source. In fact, in one embodiment, the bias heat isgenerated by coupling an electronic device, or “test chip” to thecooling device and operating the test chip in a uniform heat-generatingmanner. In the embodiment utilizing the test chip, the focused heat fromthe laser or others heat generators can be applied to locations on thetest chip itself.

The temperature detector can be a photon detector that receives athermal image of the area on the cooling device and uses the thermalimage to determine the temperatures on the device. An example is an IRthermal imager or a fluorescence imager (where the fluorescence orphosphorescence lifetime of a molecule which was applied to the coolingdevice is temperature dependent), and/or a CCD camera, which detects thetemperature dependent thermal reflectance of the device.

In yet another embodiment, the cooling device is coated with a blackbodycoating to help absorb the laser beam and increase the emissivity of thecooling device, which improves the temperature measurements. In otherembodiments, the test chip is coated with the blackbody coating. Instill other embodiments, a layer of the blackbody coating is placedbetween the test chip and the cooling device in order to measure thethermally conductive interface between the chip and cooling device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures where like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate viewsand which together with the detailed description below are incorporatedin and form part of the specification, serve to further illustratevarious embodiments and to explain various principles and advantages allin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional diagram of a prior art heat sink coupled toan electronic device.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional diagram of a second embodiment of a priorart heat sink coupled to an electronic device, specifically a liquidcooled cold plate.

FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional power distribution map of an operationalprior art electronic device.

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional temperature distribution map of anoperational prior art cooling device attached to an operationalelectronic device.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional diagram of a prior art operational heat pipecoupled to an electronic device.

FIG. 6 is a prior art graphical illustration of the cooling coefficientof an embodiment of a cooling device, namely an air cooled heat sinkwith a vapor chamber, compared to the power density of an electronicdevice.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a prior art electronic device,under load and emanating heat.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary prior art graphical representation of a thermaldistribution generated by the electronic device of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional diagram of the operational prior art heatsink of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional diagram of an operational heat pipe encasedin a cooling block and the application of a focused heat source to theheat pipe and the detection of thermal characteristics by a thermaldetector, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a graphical illustration of a single laser beam being splitinto two laser beams by the use of a Wollaston prism, according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a graphical illustration of temperature distributions causedby application of varying power levels of a heat source to a heat pipe,according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional diagram of an operational heat pipe encasedin a cooling block and the application of a focused heat source and abias heat source to the heat pipe and the detection of thermalcharacteristics by a thermal detector, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional diagram of an operational heat pipe encasedin a cooling block and the application of a heat source to a test chipcoupled to the cooling block through a thermally conductive interfaceand the detection of thermal characteristics by a thermal detector,according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional diagram of a heat sink coupled to anelectronic device, with a thermally conductive interface, illustratinghow to measure a temperature difference between the thermal interfacematerial according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a system for measuring temperature andpower distributions of a fully operating electronic device, according toan embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be understood that these embodiments are only examples of themany advantageous uses of the innovative teachings herein. In general,statements made in the specification of the present application do notnecessarily limit any of the various claimed inventions. Moreover, somestatements may apply to some inventive features but not to others. Ingeneral, unless otherwise indicated, singular elements may be in theplural and vice versa with no loss of generality. In the drawings, likenumerals refer to like parts through several views.

While the specification concludes with claims defining the features ofthe invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that theinvention will be better understood from a consideration of thefollowing description in conjunction with the drawing figures, in whichlike reference numerals are carried forward.

Electronic Device

FIG. 7 shows a prior art electronic device 104 (previously shown in FIG.1), having a top surface 702 emanating heat. The particular device shownis an electronic device composed of passive (e.g. resistors, diodes,capacitors and inductors) and/or active components (e.g. gates andtransistors). The electronic device includes memory devices, dedicatedand general purpose microprocessors, microcontrollers and alike. Theseelectronic devices are constructed over organic and inorganic circuitswith internal communication paths using electric current and/or lightand/or other electromagnetic waves. Heat emanations are shown as arrows704, 706 and 708 rising from the device 104. Note that heat 704, 706 and708 originates from different locations on the top surface 702 ofelectronic device 104. Typically, heat is a product of power dissipationwithin the device 104 under operating conditions, and therefore heatincreases in proportion to power.

Distribution of Heat and Power

FIG. 8 is an exemplary prior art graphical representation of atemperature distribution generated by the device in FIG. 7. FIG. 8graphically shows the presence of non-uniform temperature distributionson the top surface 702 of the electronic device 104. The top surface 702of the electronic device 104 is divided into three different shadedareas 802, 804, and 806. Each shaded area 802, 804, and 806 refers to atemperature interval. For example, shaded area 802 may refer to atemperature interval of about 75-90 degrees Centigrade, shaded area 804may refer to a temperature interval of about 55-75 degrees Centigradeand shaded area 806 may refer to a temperature interval of about 30-55degrees Centigrade. Thus, in relation to the other temperatures on thetop surface 702 of the electronic device 104, area 802 represents thehighest concentration of heat dissipation, known as a “hot spot”. Achallenge in the development and design of cooling devices is theremoval of excessive heat and non-uniformities in heat and power loads.

Cooling Device

Described now is an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 1, an air-cooled fin-type heat sink assembly 102 iscoupled to a silicon chip 104. The heat sink assembly 102 includes aplurality of cooling fins 106 that are made of a thermally conductivematerial such as copper or aluminum. The fin structure maximizes surfacearea and extracts the heat away from the chip 104, and rejects it to anambient environment 108. The heat sink assembly 102 can also include aninternal heat pipe or vapor chamber structure 110 located between thecooling fins 106 and the chip 104 and a thermally conductive plate 112located between the heat pipe 110 and the chip 104. Finally, a thermallyconductive interface 114, such as grease, epoxy, solder, or liquid metalpaste couples the heat sink 102 to the chip 104 and allows heat totransfer from the chip 104 to the heat sink 102.

In other embodiments, the cooling device is a liquid-cooled heat sink202. The liquid-cooled heat sink 202 is a sealed environment that doesnot necessarily rely on the ambient environment for heat dissipation,but instead provides a path for the circulation of liquid over the chip104. The liquid is able to carry away a portion of the heat to a chilleror some other heat extractor. Liquid cooled heat sinks are also coupledto the chip by a thermally conductive interface 114. The difference intemperature between the inlet and outlet of the cooled block can beused, in conjunction with the flow rate (volumetric or mass flow), todetermine the power absorbed from the laser.

Heat Pipe

Referring now to FIG. 9, a prior art heat pipe 110 is shown. A heat pipe110 is a device that can quickly and efficiently transfer heat from onepoint to another. The heat pipe 110, or vapor chamber 900, comprises asealed chamber 902 surrounding a capillary wicking material 904, acentral cavity for vapor flow known as a vapor core 912, and a workingfluid 906 (commonly water). The sealed chamber 902 isolates the workingfluid 906 from the outside environment. The sealed chamber 902 should,therefore, be leak-proof, maintain the pressure differential across itswalls, and enable transfer of heat to take place from and into theworking fluid 906.

The primary purpose of the vapor core 912 is to transport vapor from anevaporator section 910 where it absorbs the latent heat of vaporizationto a condenser region 908 where it releases this heat, thereby enablingheat transport from one part of the vapor chamber 900 to another. Theprime purpose of the wicking material 904 is to generate capillarypressure to transport the working fluid 906 from the condenser region908 at either end of the heat pipe 110 to an evaporator section 910located adjacent to a heat source 104 coupled to the heat pipe 110. Thewicking material 904 is porous and creates an evaporation-condensationcycle that transports heat and drives the condensate back to theevaporator section 910 by the capillaries in the wick wicking material904.

When heat is applied at one or more points along the outer surface ofthe sealed chamber 902, the working fluid 906 evaporates or boils andenters a vapor state. During this process, the working fluid 906 picksup the latent heat of vaporization. In its gaseous form, the workingfluid 906 has a higher pressure and is drawn to cooler locations via thevapor core 912 within the sealed chamber 902, where it condenses. Inthis way, heat is transported from the input, or evaporator section 910,to the output end, or ends, or condenser region 908, of the heat pipe110.

Method and Apparatus for Characterization of Temperature of CoolingDevice Under Highly Non-Uniform Heat Load

It will now be shown that for the first time characterization of thetemperature removal capability of a fully operational cooling deviceunder highly non-uniform heat load is possible. As will be apparent fromthe following discussion, an external heat source and device formeasuring the resultant temperature, while the device is fullyoperational, allows the thermal characterization of the cooling device.

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional diagram depicting one embodiment of thepresent invention. FIG. 10 shows a cooling device 1002, which includes awater-cooled cold block 1008 partially encapsulating a heat pipe 110.Also shown in FIG. 10 is a heat source 1004, and a means for measuringtemperature distribution 1006.

Temperature Detector

Any kind of thermal detector can be used but a photon-detector is ableto accurately and remotely measure a temperature distribution on adevice. A photon-detector detects photons comprising the luminescencefrom the electronic device, which may be temperature dependent. Inanother scheme the optical reflectance may be used. In this case abroadband lamp (preferably an LED) would illuminate the surface 1010 anda CCD camera would measure the change in reflectance. The photons changeoptical reflectivity with temperature. Infrared detection using a camera1006 will be shown and discussed throughout the remainder of thisspecification, however, it is important to note that other types ofphoton detection and photon detectors are within the true scope andspirit of the present invention. In order to enhance the IR temperaturemeasurement a black body coating may be used. A typical coating may beblack paint. In some cases it is necessary to apply this blackbodycoating very thinly in order to ensure that the thermal measurements arenot disturbed significantly. In other embodiments of the presentinvention, alternative temperature sensing techniques could beimplemented, such as thermal reflectance and fluorescence imaging.

The function of the illustrative infrared camera 1006 is to capturethermal information of the cooling device 1002 during operation. Morespecifically, the infrared camera 1006 is able to capture thermalinformation of a surface 1010 of the heat pipe 110 as a function ofposition of a localized heat source 1004. Thus, the infrared camera 1006captures and records thermal information and position information foreach temperature reading. This allows the generation of a thermaldistribution profile of the surface 1010 of the heat pipe 110. In FIG.10the surface 1010 may be coated with a black body coating. For instance,the camera 1006 can identify the distribution of heat from a localizedheat source applied to the surface 1010 of the heat pipe 110. Thedistribution can vary depending on the power level of the heat sourceapplied and the cooling characteristics of the cooling device 1002.

Heat Source

Referring still to FIG. 10, a heat source 1004 is shown being applied tosurface 1010 of heat pipe 110. In one embodiment, the heat source 1004is a focused laser beam, however, many other techniques and devices forapplying a heating power to the device 1002 will work equally as well torealize the objects of the present invention including contact and notcontact heating methods working by heat convection, heat conduction orheat radiation or a combination of all three. These heating methodsinclude lasers, focus lamps, resistive heaters, directed convection flowand heat elements. A simple 5 W laser can easily realize 500 W/cm2 byonly slightly focusing the laser beam on an 1 mm² area. If higher peakpower densities are required, the beam can be focused tighter or ahigher power laser will be used.

A blackbody coating can greatly enhance the absorption and control theabsorption of the laser power on the surface 1010. The absorption can bemeasured independently by monitoring, using a standard photo detector,the amount of reflected and incident light assuming that the transmittedlight is very small (which is a very good assumption).

As explained above, a chip 104 may have one or more “hot spots” of amaximum temperature that a cooling device is expected to thermallyreduce. So that it can be determined how the cooling device will handlehot spots of varying temperatures and locations, the focused heat source1004 is applied to selected regions of the surface 1010 of the coolingdevice 1002 to mimic hot spots. The beam 1012 can be aimed at variouslocations on the surface 1010 to test a plurality of hot spot areas.

Because it is not uncommon for some chips to have more than one hotspot, it may be desirable to apply more than one focused heating laserbeam to the surface at a given time. FIG. 11 shows the heat source 1004directing a laser beam 1012 into a Wollaston prism 1100. Wollastonprisms are well known in the art and are able to receive a single inputbeam 1012 and produce two output beams 1102 and 1104. Through the use ofone or more Wollaston prisms, a single laser 1004 can produce multiplehot spots. It is important to realize that other beam splitting elementscan be used as well and they are well-know by those of ordinary skill inthe art.

Referring now to FIG. 12, illustrated are five measured temperaturedistributions of a state of the art heat pipe 110 with different laserpowers of 1 Watt to 5 Watt, respectively, simulating a high powerdensity region of an electronic device, are shown. The image size is 35mm×35 mm and the initial laser spot 1202 shows a Gaussian distributionof 1.95 mm and 1.61 mm as 1/e2 full width. The laser spot 1202 iselongated because, as can be seen in FIG. 10, the laser beam 1012 is nothitting the surface 1010 of the heat pipe 110 at normal incidence. Ascan be seen in the series of 5 image depictions in FIG. 12, as the powerincreases, so too does the size of the hot spot maximum temperatureregion. However, the more efficient the cooling device, the smaller thehot spot will be at a given power. Knowing this characterizationinformation for a particular cooling device allows for the mostefficient and optimal design.

Although, so far, the present invention has been shown and described inconjunction with a cooled block cooling system, other embodiments willwork equally as well. For instance, the cooling device can be replacedwith a simple heatsink or heatsink/fan assembly.

Blackbody Coating

Under certain circumstances it may be preferred to coat the heat pipesurface 1010 with a thin blackbody coating. This coating helps to absorbthe laser beam and increases the emissivity of the cooling device, whichimproves the temperature measurements. The coating is preferably as thinas possible so that it does not alter the thermal behavior of thecooling device. Several good blackbody coatings shown to be usedadvantageously is black paint, a Cr coating on a rough (rougher than thedetected wavelength of the blackbody radiation) surface, or a carboncoating. The thickness should be less than 0.1 micron, which will besufficient for boosting the emissivity and to absorb the laser light.

Bias Heat

In an embodiment shown in FIG. 13, in addition to a hot spot generatedby the laser 1004, a bias heat flux is applied to the surface 1010 ofthe heat pipe 110 using the heat from a directed hotgun 1302. Instead ofthe hotgun 1302, a high power UV lamp or a laser diode array may be usedto provide the bias heat flux. Adding bias heat better simulatesconditions found in actual use, as most electronic devices 104 do notprovide a single hot spot, but rather provide a generally much higherthan ambient temperature across the entire body of the electronic device104. In order to avoid stray heating of the water-cooled cold block 1308by the hotgun 1302, a shield 1304 is provided to block the hot air ofthe hotgun 1302 from the water-cooled cold block 1308.

Referring again to FIG. 13, it can be seen that in one embodiment of thepresent invention, slots 1306 and 1308 are provided in the water-cooledcold block 1308 for the insertion of thermocouples (not shown). Theslots 1306 and 1308 are on opposite ends of the water-cooled cold block1308 so that the thermocouples can monitor the heat pipe boundarytemperatures. In another embodiment, a difference in temperature of theworking fluid 906 between the inlet 1310 and the outlet 1312 is measuredalong with the flow rate (volumetric or mass flow rate) of the workingfluid 906 to determine an amount of power absorbed by the cooling device1002. An increase in temperature of the working fluid 906 between theinlet and the outlet directly corresponds to power absorbed by thecooling device 1002. In yet another embodiment, the wick temperature ismeasured to further characterize the cooling device 1002.

Characterization of Temperature of Complete Cooling Package UnderNon-Uniform Heat Load

As explained above, and now shown in FIG. 14, a test chip 104 can bephysically coupled to the cooling device 1002. Further, a thermallyconductive interface can be used to measure the temperature of thecomplete cooling package. In this embodiment,the test chip 104 has aheater 1508 patterned on the circuitry side (facing towards the camera1006 and not shown in this view) of the test chip 104. Directed heatfrom the heat source 1004 is then applied onto the test chip 104. Thetest chip 104 can provide bias heat if power is applied to the heater1508. The directed heat from the heat source 1004 creates a hot spot onthe test chip 104, which is then thermally transferred onto the heatpipe 110.

Measuring the thermal distribution on the circuitry side of the testchip 104 (towards the camera 1006) allows a characterization of thecomplete cooling package including the test chip and the thermalinterface (not shown). For instance, if the temperature at the hot spotapplied by the heat source 1004 becomes large in size, it can thereforebe determined that the cooling device 1002 is unable to remove asufficient amount of heat from the test chip 104. Alternatively, if thetemperature of the hot spot remains relatively small, it is then knownthat the cooling device 1002 is capable of carrying away at least aportion of the heat being applied by the heat source 1004 and that, inactual use, a working electronic device with a similar hot spot will notdamagingly heat adjacent areas on the working electronic device.

Characterization of Temperature Difference Across the Thermal Interface

Referring now to FIG. 15, another embodiment of the present invention isshown where a test chip 104 is coupled to a cooling device 1002. In thisembodiment, the test chip 104 is constructed of a transparent material,such as silicon. An oil interface 1502 is placed between the test chip104 and the cooling device 1002 to facilitate an efficient thermalcoupling between the two devices. In addition, a blackbody coating 1504is provided between the oil interface 1502 and the cooling device 1002,and a second blackbody coating 1506 partially covers a surface of thetest chip 104 opposite a surface facing the cooling device 1002.Different coatings, which are thin enough not to influence the thermalproperties, can help to absorb a laser beam at different locations ofthe test chip 104 and control the temperature measurements using the IRcamera 1006.

The configuration shown in FIG. 15 may provide for a characterization ofthe thermal interface material, such as the oil interface 1502, inactual use. In one embodiment, the heater 1508 of the test chip 104 isused to heat the oil interface 1502. By measuring the thermaldistribution at the oil interface 1502 and at the second blackbodycoating 1506, the temperature difference across the thermal interfacematerial and the test chip 104 can be inferred, and, in combination withthe electrical power in the heater 1508, the thermal resistance can bederived. In another embodiment, the interface surface between the testchip 104 and the oil interface 1502 is coated with a black body coating.In that case, the temperature difference just across the thermalinterface can be measured. The general idea is that by applying theblack body coating at different locations, individual elements of thecooling package can be measured separately. In addition, a laser beam1012 from the heat source 1004 applied to different parts of the coolingpackage can help to measure the thermal response under non-uniform heatload.

Computer System for Computing Thermal Measurements

FIG. 16 shows a system 1600 for measuring thermal characteristics of acooling device in accordance with the present invention. The system 1600includes a computer 1602 and a computer readable medium 1604 that holdsinstructions that the computer can execute in accordance with thepresent invention. The computer 1602 is connected to table 1606 thatholds the cooling device 1002. Located above the device 1002 is a heatsource 1004 and an infrared camera 1006.

By placing the computer readable medium 1604 into the computer 1602, thecomputer 1602 can read instructions contained on the medium 1604 andcontrol the system 1600 to measure the thermal characteristics of thecooling device 1002. In one embodiment, the heat source 1004 and camera1006 move in relation to the device 1002 in the X-Y direction. In asecond embodiment the table 1606 moves the device 1002 in the X-Ydirections in relation to the camera 1006 and heat source 1004. In yetanother embodiment, the camera 1006 and heat source 1004 are able tomove independent of one another. The computer 1602 is able to controlthe movements in either embodiment.

The computer 1602 is able to communicate with the temperature detector1006 and record the temperature values of the regions on the device 100.The computer can then quickly process the information and solveequations for characterizing the cooling device.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustratedand described, it will be clear that the invention is not so limited.Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions andequivalents will occur to those skilled in the art without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for thermally characterizing anoperational cooling device for an electronic device, the apparatuscomprising: an operational cooling device; a localized heat source forapplying a focused heat to at least one localized region on theoperational cooling device; a system, coupled to the operational coolingdevice and to the localized heat source, for moving the localized heatsource relative and the operational cooling device to more than oneposition relative to each other to direct the focused heat from thelocalized heat source to more than one localized region of theoperational cooling device; a temperature detector for measuring atemperature distribution on the operational cooling device; and a biasheat source other than a test chip or electronic device, for applying,independently of the localized heat source, a uniform heat to a largerarea of the operational cooling device than the area of the at least onelocalized region.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thetemperature detector for measuring a temperature distribution on theoperational cooling device measures a temperature on the operationalcooling device when the localized heat source and the operationalcooling device are at each position of the more than one positionrelative to each other.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the biasheat source comprises at least one of an ultraviolet (UV) lamp, a laserdiode array, an electromagnetic radiator and a directed convective heatflow generator.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein theoperational cooling device comprises at least one of a heat pipe, avapor chamber, a cold plate, a mini-channel, a microchannel, and a fanor a pump or a compressor.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 2,wherein the temperature detector comprises at least one of an infrared(IR) thermal imager, a fluorescence imager, and a charge-coupled device(CCD) camera.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein theoperational cooling device is coated at least partially with a blackbodycoating to enhance measurement of the temperature distribution.
 7. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the localized heat sourcecomprises a laser for producing a laser beam.
 8. An apparatus forthermally characterizing an operational cooling device for an electronicdevice, the apparatus comprising: an operational cooling device; alocalized heat source for applying a focused heat to at least onelocalized region on the operational cooling device; a system, coupled tothe operational cooling device and to the localized heat source, formoving the localized heat source relative and the operational coolingdevice to more than one position relative to each other to direct thefocused heat from the localized heat source to more than one localizedregion of the operational cooling device; and a temperature detector formeasuring a temperature distribution on the operational cooling device,wherein the temperature detector for measuring a temperaturedistribution on the operational cooling device measures a temperature onthe operational cooling device when the localized heat source and theoperational cooling device are at each position of the more than oneposition relative to each other.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 8,wherein the localized heat source comprises a laser for producing alaser beam.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:at least one beam splitting optical element for splitting the laser beaminto at least two paths for applying the focused heat to a plurality oflocalized regions on the operational cooling device.
 11. The apparatusaccording to claim 8, further comprising: a bias heat source other thana test chip, for applying, independently of the localized heat source, auniform heat to a larger area of the operational cooling device than thearea of the at least one localized region.
 12. The apparatus of claim11, wherein the bias heat source comprises at least one of anultraviolet (UV) lamp, a laser diode array, an electromagnetic radiatorand a directed convective heat flow generator.
 13. The apparatusaccording to claim 11, wherein the operational cooling device comprisesat least one of a heat pipe, a vapor chamber, a cold plate, amini-channel, a microchannel, and a fan/pump/compressor.
 14. Anapparatus for thermally characterizing an operational cooling device foran electronic device, the apparatus comprising: an operational coolingdevice; a laser for producing a laser beam for applying a focused heatto at least one localized region on the operational cooling device; asystem, coupled to the operational cooling device and to the laser, formoving the laser relative and the operational cooling device to morethan one position relative to each other to direct the focused heat fromthe laser to more than one localized region of the operational coolingdevice; a temperature detector for measuring a temperature distributionon the operational cooling device; and a bias heat source other than atest chip or electronic device, for applying, independently of thelaser, a uniform heat to a larger area of the operational cooling devicethan the area of the at least one localized region.
 15. The apparatusaccording to claim 14, further comprising: at least one beam splittingoptical element for splitting the laser beam into at least two paths forapplying the focused heat to a plurality of localized regions on theoperational cooling device.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 14,wherein the temperature detector for measuring a temperaturedistribution on the operational cooling device measures a temperature onthe operational cooling device when the laser and the operationalcooling device are at each position of the more than one positionrelative to each other.
 17. The apparatus according to claim 14, whereinthe test chip has a circuitry side and a side opposite the circuitryside, and wherein the side opposite the circuitry side is thermallycoupled to the operational cooling device.
 18. The apparatus of claim17, wherein the bias heat source comprises at least one of anultraviolet (UV) lamp, a laser diode array, an electromagnetic radiatorand a directed convective heat flow generator.